Australia's Science Forum

Hi im new here,

Just wondering if anyone has a SOP in removing chemicals on site with the disposal company. Our facilities manager organizes the admin side and removal and the labbie organizes the chemicals. However, as I have jumped into the role as a newbie I noticed that Mercury was missed at the end of 2023. I was just curious as to the process and if there is procedure that all stages can follow? I know we have a manifest and that gets filled out and sent off but shouldn't the chemical disposal company/ or our facilities manager be ticking off these chemicals when they leave the premises?

Any advise would be appreciated

Thank you

Welcome aboard!
I don't think you would need to be as detailed as that. Having a list of chemicals going out for disposal, with a date they were collected would be sufficient. Ensure that your chemical register is updated to show any chemicals that are gone for good.

When chemicals are collected, do you keep them stored in Science until collection or does someone else hold them? You still need to ensure the chemicals are safely stored, even if it is an interim arrangement until they are collected.

I'll PM you with my email address if you want some more info.

Hi! Thank you for a response. I tried emailing you but it didn't go through.

We do have a manifest to complete when chemicals go out for disposal. The labbie completes this then organises it with the facilities manager to dispose of with the certified disposal company. We just have an issue of missing chemicals that were listed on the manifest. I was hoping that there was a guideline of sorts from a schools perspective that eliminates the possibility of missing chemicals when it has been handled by 3 people at different stages. Ie. The labbie, supervisor, chemical company. The purpose of having it somewhat detailed or at least explained somewhere is that I am hoping to create a structured approach and guideline for other newbies in the area so mistakes like this don’t happen again.

Yes we do have a safe locked up area that the chemicals are stored in until they are collected for disposal (this would be where the other chemicals are stored in the lab).

With regards to having mercury banned from schools since last year sometime is there a particular time that it needs to be removed from the premises? Where would I get this information from?

Many thanks-Jess

labbiejess wrote: ↑07 Mar 2024, 10:36

With regards to having mercury banned from schools since last year sometime is there a particular time that it needs to be removed from the premises? Where would I get this information from?

Is this an official thing? I haven't seen anything about it.

I haven't heard anything about Mercury being banned from schools? The old thermometers have been for years. We still have a sample inside a small glass container sealed inside another labeled container for viewing only kids are allowed to feel the total weight of the container. RiskAssess still has it listed as Teacher only. Would love some further information if thats the case in NSW.

We can't get Waste Chemicals picked up, have been trying for the last 18 months. The companies don't like coming to regional areas.

Not sure about hard and fast rules....but we have removed all mercury from school. It came in about 10 years ago that mercury was being banned in research laboratories. Follow their lead, chuck it all. There is no reason you need it, so reduce your risks.

macca wrote: ↑07 Mar 2024, 12:44 I haven't heard anything about Mercury being banned from schools? The old thermometers have been for years. We still have a sample inside a small glass container sealed inside another labeled container for viewing only kids are allowed to feel the total weight of the container. RiskAssess still has it listed as Teacher only. Would love some further information if thats the case in NSW.

We can't get Waste Chemicals picked up, have been trying for the last 18 months. The companies don't like coming to regional areas.

Yeah we're the same, just have a small amount in a container so they can see the meniscus going the other way and to feel how heavy it is. I'm still working on a waste collection though. I have someone willing to collect it but they want it all in the individual bottles but I don't want to pay for all of that and then have to replace the bottles as well!

I dunno . We are a school

Education is our main goal surely . I sometimes wonder if us Lab techs get so wound up in all the safety stuff that we actually miss the whole point of why the heck we are here .

Mercury is not good . Sure , but it is also an amazing element with properties that no other element possesses .

What other metal is liquid at room temp and had a reverse meniscus and is so heavy .

I strongly believe that it should be available for “sensible” teachers to take into “sensible “ classes .

Sure , leave it sealed in a bottle …. Stick that in another unbreakable bottle .

But don’t deprive the kids of an education just because it freaks you out .

At the end of the day , it is the teachers responsibility :… not ours .

OK …. Probably said too much


When I see an official request to remove it from school I will …… in the mean time, it will be available for any sensible teacher to have access to .

Well said Bigmack, 100% agree

The trouble is, not everyone is "sensible". Students cannot be relied upon to be "sensible". Incidents will happen because we aren't being "sensible". The severity of those incidents will be determined by the level of risk associated with the activity.
If teachers want to use hazardous chemicals and something goes wrong, it will be us silly bunnies having to clean up. I'm not a fan of having to handle mercury, lead compounds, chromates etc

However, I have heard that DDT is a great way to treat head lice. Sometimes the laws and regulations do get it right.

Ah yes... "sensible"... At my old school I discovered a broken mercury thermometer in one of my prep room drawers. I don't know how long it had been there and how long the little balls of mercury had been rolling around!

I also had a not-at-all-sensible teacher (again, at my old school) who put mercury in a beaker and then dropped a marble in which of course broke the glass and yes, I was called in to clean it up from all around the lab where it had spilt, fallen off the bench, split into tiny balls and rolled away... with the attitude of "we used to be given balls of it to play with on our desks so what's the problem?" so I am very strict with instructions when it does go out at my current school that under no circumstances is the container to be opened! And if they do somehow manage to spill it, they are responsible for clean up, disposal and I will report it in writing that the teacher was unsafe.

Don't get me started on head lice treatments!!! hahaha